Social Weather Report | 59% Knew of VP Sara Duterte’s Fourth Impeachment Case Before the Survey; 41% Learned Only During the Interview

32% agreed, 18% were undecided, and 42% disagreed with the impeachment complaint; 7% don’t know enough
44% believe the Senate is delaying the trial, 22% were undecided, and 25% don’t believe; 9% don’t know enough

By Social Weather Station

The national Social Weather Survey of June 25-29, 2025 found 59% of adult Filipinos saying they were already aware of the fourth impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, which was transmitted to the Senate earlier this year. Meanwhile, 41% learned about the matter only during the interview [Chart 1].

When asked for their opinion on the impeachment complaint, 32% agreed, 42% disagreed, and 18% were undecided, for a net agreement score of –10 (% agree minus % disagree). The remaining 7% did not have enough knowledge about the matter to give an opinion [Chart 2].

The June 2025 survey also found that 44% believe the Senate is deliberately delaying the start of the impeachment trial, compared to 25% who do not believe, and 22% who are undecided, for a net belief score of +19 (% believe minus % not believe). Nine percent did not have enough knowledge about the issue [Chart 3].

Before the respondents were asked, they were presented with the statement card:

Impeachment is a legal process to remove high-ranking government officials, like the President, Vice President, or Supreme Court Justices, from their position if they are accused of serious crimes or wrongdoing. These include corruption, betrayal of public trust, or violating the Constitution.

In December 2024, the fourth impeachment complaint was filed by several groups in the House of Representatives against Vice President Sara Duterte due to several allegations. The allegations include the alleged unexplained spending of confidential and intelligence funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, her refusal to answer investigations regarding the use of these funds, “ill-gotten wealth” that could not be explained in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), involvement in extrajudicial killings during her tenure as Mayor of Davao City, her trip to Germany during the onslaught of Typhoon Carina, her failure to condemn China's aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea, and threats to the lives of President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

On February 5, 2025, this fourth impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte was signed by 215 of 306 members of the House of Representatives. This impeachment complaint was eventually transmitted to the Senate for trial.

The survey items cited in this report are non-commissioned and were included at SWS’s initiative.

Awareness about the impeachment case is highest in Metro Manila

The percentage of those who were aware of the impeachment complaint even before the interview was highest in Metro Manila at 68%, followed by the Visayas at 64%, Balance Luzon at 57%, and Mindanao at 52%.

Support for the impeachment case is strongest in Metro Manila

Support for the impeachment case against Vice President Duterte was strongest in Metro Manila with a net agreement score of +12 (44% agree, 32% disagree), followed by Balance Luzon with +7 (40% agree, 33% disagree). On the other hand, opposition was highest in Mindanao with a net agreement score of –52 (13% agree, 65% disagree), followed by the Visayas with –18 (28% agree, 46% disagree).

In all areas, the percentage of those who were undecided ranged from 16% to 18%, while those who did not have enough knowledge about the matter ranged from 5% to 8%.

Belief that the Senate is delaying the impeachment trial is dominant in all areas except Mindanao

Net belief that the Senate is delaying the process was at double-digit levels in Balance Luzon at +27 (49% believe, 22% not believe), Metro Manila at +20 (46% believe, 26% not believe), and the Visayas at +16 (41% believe, 25% not believe). It was at +6 (35% believe, 29% not believe) in Mindanao.

The percentage of those who were undecided was highest in Mindanao (25%), followed by Balance Luzon (22%), the Visayas (21%), and Metro Manila (17%). Meanwhile, those who did not have enough knowledge about the issue were highest in the Visayas (13%), followed by Mindanao and Metro Manila (11% each), and Balance Luzon (7%).

Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents

Applying census weights and correctly rounded, 13% of the respondents are from Metro Manila, 45% from Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), 19% from the Visayas, and 23% from Mindanao [Table 1].

Fifty percent are from urban areas, and 50% are from rural areas.

Male and female respondents have a 1-to-1 ratio and, thus, are alternately sampled.

By age group, 12% are youth (18-24), 19% are intermediate youth (25-34), 20% are middle-aged (35-44), 19% are 45 to 54 years old, and 30% are 55 years old and above.

By education, 12% had at most some elementary education, 27% either finished elementary or had some high school education, 28% either finished junior high school or completed vocational school, 21% attended some college, and 13% either graduated from college or took post-graduate studies.

Survey background

The Second Quarter 2025 Social Weather Survey was conducted from June 25-29, 2025, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), the Visayas, and Mindanao. The sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The area estimates were weighted by the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2025 to obtain the national estimates.

The SWS survey questions on the fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte are non-commissioned and were included at SWS’s initiative and released as a public service.

The exact phrasing of the survey questions (the source language is Filipino; English translation included) was:

STATEMENT CARD: “Ang impeachment ay isang legal na proseso upang tanggalin sa posisyon ang mga matataas na opisyal ng gobyerno, tulad ng Presidente, Bise Presidente, o mga Hukom ng Korte Suprema, kung sila ay inakusahan ng mabibigat na krimen o maling gawain. Kasama rito ang korupsyon, pagtataksil sa tiwala ng publiko, o paglabag sa Konstitusyon.

Noong Disyembre 2024, ang ika-apat na kasong impeachment ang inihain ng ilang mga grupo sa House of Representatives laban kay Bise Presidente Sara Duterte dahil sa ilang mga paratang. Kabilang sa mga paratang ang mga diumano’y hindi maipaliwanag na paggastos ng confidential at intelligence funds ng Office of the Vice President at Department of Education, pagtangging sumagot sa mga imbestigasyon tungkol sa paggamit ng mga pondong ito, mga yamang kinurakot o “ill-gotten wealth” na hindi maipaliwanag sa kanyang mga Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth o SALN, pagkasangkot sa mga extrajudicial killing noong siya ay Mayor ng Davao City, paglalakbay niya papuntang Germany sa kasagsagan ng Bagyong Carina, ang kabiguan niyang kondenahin ang mga agresibong pagkilos ng China sa West Philippine Sea, at pagbabanta sa buhay ni Pang. Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, at Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Noong Pebrero 5, 2025, itong ika-apat na kasong impeachment laban kay Bise Presidente Sara Duterte ay pinirmahan ng 215 sa 306 na miyembro ng House of Representatives. Kalaunan, ang kasong impeachment na ito ay ipinasa sa Senado para sa paglilitis.

[Impeachment is a legal process to remove high-ranking government officials, like the President, Vice President, or Supreme Court Justices, from their position if they are accused of serious crimes or wrongdoing. These include corruption, betrayal of public trust, or violating the Constitution.

Q1. “Dati na po ba ninyong alam ang tungkol sa ika-apat na kasong impeachment na isinampa laban kay Bise Presidente Sara Duterte, na kalaunan ay ipinasa sa Senado para sa paglilitis, o ngayon lamang? (Dati nang alam, Ngayon lamang alam) [Did you know previously of the fourth impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, which was eventually transmitted to the Senate for trial, or only now? (Know of previously, Know only now)]

Q2. “Kayo po ba ay SUMASANG-AYON o HINDI SUMASANG-AYON sa ika-apat na kasong impeachment na isinampa laban kay Bise Presidente Sara Duterte ng mga miyembro ng House of Representatives, na kalaunan ay ipinasa sa Senado para sa paglilitis? Kayo po ba ay… (SHOW CARD: Lubos na sumasang-ayon, Medyo sumasang-ayon, Hindi tiyak kung sumasang-ayon o hindi, Medyo hindi sumasang-ayon, Lubos na hindi sumasang-ayon, Hindi sapat ang kaalaman upang magbigay ng opinyon)? [Do you AGREE or DISAGREE with the fourth impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte by the members of the House of Representatives, which was eventually transmitted to the Senate for trial? Do you… (SHOW CARD: Strongly agree, Somewhat agree, Undecided if agree or disagree, Somewhat disagree, Strongly disagree, Don’t know enough to give an opinion)?]

Q3. Sa pangkalahatan, gaano po kayo NANINIWALA o HINDI NANINIWALA na sadyang ayaw kaagad simulan ng Senado ang impeachment trial o paglilitis sa Senado kay Bise Presidente Sara Duterte? Kayo po ba ay… (SHOW CARD: Lubos na naniniwala, Medyo naniniwala, Hindi tiyak kung naniniwala o hindi, Medyo hindi naniniwala, Lubos na hindi naniniwala, o Hindi sapat ang inyong kaalaman upang magbigay ng opinyon? [Overall, how much do you BELIEVE or NOT BELIEVE that the Senate deliberately does not want to start the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte immediately at the Senate? Do you… (SHOW CARD: Strongly believe, Somewhat believe, Undecided if believe or not, Somewhat not believe, Strongly not believe, or You don’t know enough to give an opinion?]”

SWS employs its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data processing, and analysis, and does not outsource any of its survey operations. This report was prepared by Leo S. Laroza.

Chart 1